by England produced one of their best ever displays – home or away – to go 1-0 up in the five-Test series against India. Ollie Pope helped the side and Tom Hartley with the winning ball in the rain in England but how do all 22 players stack up after four days in Hyderabad?
England: Hartley and Pope model
Zak Crawley (20 & 31)
He scored 51 in the match, set the tone and lost his fourth ball from Patel in the second over of six overs. It was a big statement for him personally, as Patel had tormented him four years ago, and for the team as they were starting 190 behind. 6
Ben Duckett (35 & 47)
Like Crawley, he was not fazed by facing an old nemesis, in his case Ravichandran Ashwin. Great sweep and showed that he will stay in at some point on this tour and score big. 7
Ollie Pope (1 & 196)
He has to get full marks even though he was all over the place in the first innings. To make 196 in these conditions and under such scoreboard pressure is one of the performances of the century in Test cricket. 10
Joe Root (29 & 2, 4-79 & 1-41)
All for his bowling. Five wickets and his rest breaks show that he can be a front-line spinner to reckon with in these conditions. Now he just needs to find his rhythm at the crease. 6
Jonny Bairstow (37 & 10)
He showed solid defense against Jasprit Bumrah, the best of any England player when the ball was reversing, but he came in twice and got out. Still, there were good signs for the series. 5
Ben Stokes (70 & 6)
The first innings of 70 was so crucial and the run out showed that he can’t keep quiet, even when he couldn’t bowl. Is a man a better manager in sport? Should Liverpool shortlist him? Hartley was the latest to benefit from his wise handling. 7
Ben Foakes (4 & 34, 2 stumps)
Immaculate keep on the final day when the ball kept low. Wise head at No. 7 in these conditions when he has an excellent batsman at the other end. Just need to be better with the tail. 6
Rehan Ahmed (13 & 28, 2-105 & 0-33)
His batting is way ahead of his bowling and at this level he looks like a teenager in men’s cricket, which he is. But he will learn so much in this environment and one day England will reap the rewards. 5
Tom Hartley (23 & 34, 2-131 & 7-62)
Again top marks, which would have been a work of fiction if it had been suggested at the halfway point. Hartley clearly has the backbone of Test cricket with some scintillating batting and nerves-free bowling, which won the match after such a horror start. 10
Mark Wood (11 & 0, 0-47 & 0-15)
He put everything on the field which took the life out of any pace after the first day and we will be glad to have a few more back in the next Test and England will certainly be ready to bring in another seamer. 5
Jack Leach (0 & 0, 1-63 & 1-33)
Gritted his teeth through 10 second innings overs for one wicket despite the pain of his swollen knee that seemed like he had stuffed newspapers down his trouser leg. His time will come if he is fit enough to continue. 5
India: Gill looked pained, Rohit’s captaincy questionable
Yashavi Jaiswal (80 & 15)
A first-inning effort set a tone that set Hartley’s confidence in the first dig. Not nearly as comfortable in seconds. 7
Rohit Sharma (24 & 39)
Passive captaincy, especially in the second innings. Looks mainly in contact and made two starts, but could not go forward. 4
Shubman Gill (23 & 0)
I got in, but it was painful viewing and in the end a soft dismissal. Wunderkind has the highest score of 36 in 11 Test innings. 2
KL Rahul (86 & 22)
In the first innings, Kohli was barely missed at No 4. Beautiful, elegant knock. The Pope’s arrest was terrible. 6
Shreyas Iyer (35 & 13)
Another concern in the batting order for India. The short ball was struggled but fell calmly to turn twice. 4
Ravindra Jadeja (87 & 2, 3-88 & 2-131)
This team, and India, will hope that he was not injured while being run out. England put pressure on their bowling, but batted beautifully on the second day. 7
KS Bharat (41 & 28)
Kept very tidy, showing the value of a specialist in these conditions, and batted nicely in both innings. His dismissal ended India. 7
Ravichandran Ashwin (3-68 & 3-126, 1 & 28)
Real magic, but England seemed to be catching up in the second innings. Duckett and Stokes, the left, causes all kinds of problems. 7
Axar Patel (2-33 & 1-74, 44 & 17)
Third of the three spinners a lot. Bairstow’s beauty to get on the first day, but otherwise a mediocre performance, and the bad fall of the Pope. 5
Jasprit Bumrah (0 & 6, 2-28 & 4-41)
Excellent on the first day, but a brilliant reverse swing spell on the third evening that showed his range of skills. How good he is is evident when he takes six wickets when other seamen have taken one. 9
Mohammed Siraj (0 & 12, 0-28 & 0-22)
Duckett hit a lot, but he was loose the first morning. Alarmingly, Mohammed Shami could come in and improve the attack from the third Test. 3
